Charleston's
Husk Restaurant to open in
Nashville

The
Neighborhood Dining Group, a restaurant management group that operates
the award-winning Husk Restaurant in Charleston, S.C.,
has announced plans to open Husk Nashville in the
spring.

Chef Sean Brock, a James
Beard Award winner and respected hero of farm-to-table and
Southern cuisine, will lead the culinary team at the
restaurant.

“It’s an incredible opportunity to come back to the
city that I love so much and be part of the community again,” said
Brock, who worked as executive chef at The Hermitage Hotel for
just under three years beginning in 2003.

The
Neighborhood Dining Group, led by David Howard, operates Chicago’s Steak
and Seafood in Roswell, Ga., as well as Charleston’s McCrady’s, Queen
Anne’s Revenge and Husk, which Bon Appetit magazine named the “Best New
Restaurant in America” in 2011.

Brock, chef/partner
at both Husk and McCrady’s, said the success in raising public awareness
of Southern culture through Husk led to talks about opening a second
location.

“We rattled off a bunch of cities and
Nashville was at the top of the list,” Brock said. “It’s hands down one
of the most exciting towns in the South for
sure.”

Husk Nashville will be located at 37 Rutledge
Street in the Richmond Hill area a few blocks from downtown. The
building, which previously held the fine dining restaurant Andrew
Chadwick’s on Rutledge Hill between November 2007 and March 2009, dates
back to 1895 and is on the National Registry of Historic
Homes.

“(Nashville) just seemed to be a natural fit,
and it was also about finding the right building,” Brock said. “Husk has
to be in an old building. It has to have a specific feel to the
restaurant. That’s part of the charm of Southern
hospitality.”

Brock cited Nashville’s “unique voice
and vibe” as part of the attraction, as did
Howard.

“We just want to jump in there,” Howard said.
“You have an energetic culinary scene. When I visited Nashville I just
fell in love with it.”

Howard and Brock both
mentioned Brock’s relationship with Tennessee purveyors (such as Scott
Witherow of Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Co., Allan Benton of
Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams, among many others), as a reason
for their choice.

“For us it’s a very easy
transition,” Brock said. “We already use all these wonderful Tennessee
purveyors. We’ve already got them on speed
dial.”

Brock also has relationships with several
established chefs in Nashville, and he’s familiar with the feel of the
city.

“I think what’s cool about Nashville is you
have ethnic restaurants and amazing meat-and-threes like
Arnold’s.

Then you have neighborhood places like what
Tandy (Wilson at City House) and Hal (Holden-Bache at Lockeland Table)
have been doing.”

He tipped his hat to longtime
friend Tyler Brown of The Capitol Grille, Pat Martin of Martin’s
Bar-B-Cue Joint, Carey Bringle of the Peg Leg Porker, and Josh Habiger
and Erik Anderson of The Catbird Seat.

Nashville’s
growth, and soon-to-open Music City Center convention space also
encouraged the decision to open the restaurant here, Howard said. The
restaurant will add more than 50 new jobs.

The
philosophy at Husk Nashville will match that of Husk Charleston, which
celebrates Southern cuisine, heirloom produce, and regional
specialties.

“Our philosophy won’t change one iota,”
Howard said. “We have a self-imposed rule that our ingredients must come
from the South.”

The restaurant will be open seven
days a week for dinner ($18-$24 an entrée) as well as Friday lunch
($9-15 an entrée) and brunch on Saturdays and
Sundays.

Brock said the menu likely will incorporate
wood-fired and outdoor cooking as well as vegetables raised in gardens
at the restaurant and gathered from local
farmers.